Hot SEAL, Tijuana Nights

by Cat Johnson

  “Could you turn off the damn water? We’re in the middle of a drought.” He scowled.

  She disappeared and did as told, then was back, but she still wasn’t explaining her presence fast enough for his liking.

  “Amanda hired me to redecorate your place. As a surprise for you. I’m a designer now. Gabrielle Lee Interiors and More.” She paused, as if waiting for him to say something. When he didn’t, she continued, “You weren’t supposed to be home until next month. I’m not done yet.”

  Oh, so now it was his fault for coming home early.

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “That doesn’t explain why you’re in my shower.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Zach leaned back against the doorframe. He could wait as long as is took but he wasn’t leaving until he had a proper explanation.

  “I lost my apartment and I haven’t found a new one yet. It was only going to be for a few weeks.”

  His eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? You were just going to squat in my house until I got back?”

  “It wasn’t going to be exactly squatting. I was going to work here, day and night, to get everything done in time.”

  “And sleep here. And shower here,” he added.

  “Well, yeah.” She finally raised her eyes to meet his. “I’m sorry. I just wanted it to be nice when you got home.”

  “Oh, I see. You’re doing it for me.” He shook his head. “You were bad news then and you’re still bad news now. I warned Amanda about you. She obviously didn’t listen.”

  A spark of anger flamed to life in her eyes. “I am not. You never gave me a fair chance. Never tried to get to know me. You should know Amanda wouldn’t be my best friend if I were as horrible of a person as you think I am. And I don’t even know why you hate me so much. Just because I walked in on you in the shower when I thought it was Amanda? So what? Boo hoo, big bad SEAL had his privacy invaded. What were you doing in my shower that day anyway? Huh?”

  Something about her trying to look intimidating while clutching a shower curtain had him smiling, and then outright laughing.

  This kind of shit only happened to him. The guys weren’t going to believe it when he told them. It was too crazy.

  “Oh, man.” He ran a hand over his face, controlling himself enough to speak. “Look, I’ve been traveling for three days. I’m tired, hungry and a little punchy. I want a cold beer, some hot wings and then I wanna sleep in my own bed.”

  He had a bad feeling his bed might no longer be here, but he’d deal with that later, after the naked crazy chick was out of his house.

  “I’m going out,” he continued. “I expect you to be gone when I get back.”

  She bit her lip and didn’t answer.

  “What now?” he asked, afraid of the reply.

  “All of the stuff from my apartment is in your garage. I can sleep at Amanda’s tonight, but I can’t get everything out until tomorrow.”

  He looked skyward, seeking patience. “Fine.”

  “Zach.”

  He’d already turned to go when her voice stopped him.

  “Yeah?” He planted his hand on the doorframe but didn’t look back, waiting for whatever she had to say.

  “Don’t be mad at Amanda. She just wanted to do something nice for you.”

  “I didn’t ask her to,” he reminded.

  “I know. I told her it was a bad idea.”

  Now he did turn to look at her. “Did you?”

  “Yes.” Gabby tipped her head in a nod. “But she insisted.”

  Score one for the crazy chick. Even she knew redoing a man’s home while he was away was a hugely bad idea. Too bad Amanda didn’t listen.

  “Will you let me at least finish the house?” she asked.

  That was the last thing he wanted.

  His knee jerk reaction was to put everything back the way it had been before his sister and her crazy college roommate had meddled with it. But he had a feeling that ship had passed.

  Likely his grandmother’s old carpet was in a landfill somewhere. He’d see the old wallpaper he’d grown up with had been painted over or stripped.

  He evaluated the situation and decided the absolute last thing he wanted was to have to finish redecorating his damn house during his leave. But he at least wanted to have some say in finishing it. It was his house.

  Gabby and Amanda had created this mess. He should let them finish cleaning it up. They’d already destroyed his memories and his grandmother’s home as he knew it.

  She was still waiting for an answer when he drew in a breath.

  “Fine.” He didn’t want her to think she was off the hook, so he added, “We’ll talk in the morning. There’s going to be some ground rules.”

  “Okay.” Her relief was visible as she nodded and clutched the shower curtain. “Thank you.”

  Christ. Now she was looking all doe-eyed and grateful. He didn’t want that either. “Don’t thank me. Just finish this shit and get the fuck out of my house as soon as you can.”

  He saw her expression wilting from his words. Good. Maybe now she’d finish even faster. Hate and fear—both powerful motivators.

  His job done there, he turned and closed the door behind him. He needed that beer now more than ever.

  EIGHT

  Gabby couldn’t see out of the rear window of her SUV from all the stuff, and her hands were shaking as she tried to steer out of the driveway.

  She probably had no business being on the road like this but she had no choice.

  Zach wanted her out and she hadn’t been brave enough to disagree with him. How could she? He was completely in the right. She was a squatter.

  A homeless squatter.

  She’d have to rent a storage unit in the morning and get all of her stuff out before Zach threw it all into the road for the trash pickup. Moving her stuff by herself was going to take hours. And she was probably going to have to rent a truck to move the bigger stuff. And beg Amanda and Jasper to help her get the heavy furniture into the truck.

  A truck. A storage unit. How much was all that stuff going to cost? Less than rent she reminded herself, which she no longer had to pay, being homeless and all.

  She’d have to couch surf, and live by the good graces of her best friend in the guest room. Or move to that horrible apartment building she’d seen. Or give up her hopes and dreams and move home to her parents’ place.

  Every one of those options sucked.

  As the streetlights blurred before her eyes, she fought the tears and concentrated on the road ahead.

  He’d been pissed. He’d been scary. Then he’d laughed at her. Amanda’s big bad SEAL brother was frightening on a good day. But a laughing Zach was the most terrifying of all.

  Is that what SEALs did before they killed someone with their bare hands? Laughed?

  She’d told Amanda he wouldn’t be happy with—

  Darn it! Amanda.

  Zach was probably going to call her. Gabby needed to get to her first and explain.

  Nearly running off the road, she managed to get out her cell and call the number.

  When Amanda answered, Gabby burst out with, “Has Zach called you tonight?”

  “No. Stop worrying. I told you he’s not going to be home for—”

  Wrong!

  “Don’t answer your phone if he calls,” Gabby cut off her friend.

  “What? Why not?” she asked.

  “Please, Amanda. I’m on my way to your house now. I have to explain something to you in person before you talk to Zach.”

  “Why are you so convinced Zach is going to call me tonight?”

  “Because he’s home. And he found me in his house. And he’s really pissed.”

  “Well, then he can just be mad at me. I’m the one who hired you.”

  “No. I mean yes, there is that. But there’s more.”

  “What more?” Amanda asked.

  “Please, just trust me. I’ll be there in half an hour. I’ll explain everything when I get the
re. Just don’t answer his calls until I do.”

  “All right. But he’s really home? So soon?”

  “Oh, yeah. He’s home. Safe and sound.” And looking as hot as he was angry.

  Why did Mother Nature put such a mean man in such a beautiful package? It was really unfair to womankind.

  Of course, maybe he was only mean to her. That was a distinct possibility.

  If she ever had any chance of his getting over that little mishap in college well over a decade ago, it was gone now.

  She just couldn’t catch a break with this guy.

  Maybe one day her damn heart would realize that it was a lost cause and stop fluttering every time someone even mentioned Zach’s name.

  Schoolgirl crushes on your best friend’s brother rarely, if ever, worked out. And since he hated her, that was a certainty.

  “He’s texting me.” Amanda’s announcement brought Gabby’s attention back to the call.

  Gabby winced. “What’s it say?”

  “Call me. All caps. Two exclamation points.”

  Uh oh. That was bad.

  “Amanda—”

  “Gabby, stop. He’ll get over it. I promise you. Besides, I hired you. I paid you. Redecorating his house while he was away was my idea and clearly my doing. Not yours.”

  All of Amanda’s assurances might have made Gabby feel better if she hadn’t seen that smoldering look in his eyes. And not the good kind of smolder either.

  Not the kind you read about in romance novels right before the hero tosses the heroine onto the bed and has his way with her.

  Oh no. This was the kind of look that said a volcano’s worth of molten hate simmered inside him, just waiting for him to go off.

  Then no one would be safe, particularly not Gabby, right there in the lava’s path.

  Amanda would be in the path of destruction too.

  What if he was on the way to Amanda’s house right now too? He had a long head start on her. She’d had to dry off and dress.

  She couldn’t risk Volcano Zach going off without at least trying to warn the villagers—er, make that Amanda. She couldn’t wait to do this in person.

  “Amanda, I have something to tell you.”

  There was the slightest pause. “All right.”

  “Zach might be mad about more than just the redecorating.”

  Another pause, longer this time. This one heavy with what she imagined was her friend’s mingled dread and suspicion.

  Finally, Amanda said, “Gabby, what did you do?”

  “Um, so remember that time in college when he was in the shower?”

  “Yes.” Amanda stretched the word out in an even, measured tone.

  Gabby drew in a deep breath. “Well, funny story . . .”

  NINE

  All Zach could think as he sat at his favorite drinking establishment in Coronado was that it was a good thing for Gabby that he had made plans with the team to meet at McP’s Pub tonight.

  If he hadn’t, there was no way he would have left her there alone in his house.

  Meanwhile, his text to his sister was still unanswered.

  Scowling, he tossed the cell down onto the table where he could keep an eye on it and reached for his beer.

  “Dude. It’s our last team night at McP’s before Compass and Hawk are gone. Forever.” Dutch stressed the word, as if Zach needed to be reminded that things would never be the same. “How about paying a little attention to your teammates and stop playing with your damn phone?”

  “Fuck you. I’m paying attention.” He just happened to also be checking his cell for a reply from Amanda, who was ignoring him. And pissing him off.

  “Who are you trying to get a hold of, Z-man? Tonight’s lucky lady?” Justus asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

  “No. Eww.” Zack cringed at the suggestion. “I’m trying to get a hold of my damn sister.”

  “Eww is right. Even T-Bone here wouldn’t do his own sister.” Smart-ass Rocket hooked a thumb at the other SEAL, earning him a deep frown from the large Louisiana boy in return.

  “I’m not setting up a booty call, you perve.” Zach scowled. “I’m trying to get her on the phone so I can yell at her.”

  “Yeah, that sounds about right.” Hawk grinned.

  “And why are you trying to yell at your sister,” Nitro asked.

  “Listen to what she did to me.” Zach raised his empty bottle to get the waitress’s attention. He was going to need more alcohol to get through this story without cracking his damn molars from clenching his jaw so hard.

  “She hired her friend to redecorate my house while we were gone. The whole thing. Carpets are torn out. Walls are painted. Furniture is missing, I don’t even know to where. And all my shit’s been moved.” Zach wrapped up the horror story with what he considered the worst part—that Gabby had messed with his stuff—but instead of the sympathy he was due, he got frowns.

  “Why are you mad? That was nice of her,” Nitro said.

  “And I bet it’s costing your sister a butt load of money to have your place redone too. And you’re pissed? Dude, you’re nuts.” Dutch shook his head.

  What the fuck? These men were like brothers to him. His friends. His teammates. Not Amanda’s. They were supposed to take his side, not his sister’s. Even if they didn’t agree with him.

  They must not fully understand what was going on.

  “You didn’t hear the worst of it. I come home, straight from the base, first time I’m setting foot in my house since we left, and the damn interior decorator is in my fucking shower. I walked right in on her.”

  Seven sets of eyes were glued to him as the questions started flying from every single one of the guys.

  “She naked?”

  “She cute?”

  “How old is she?”

  “Blonde or brunette? I need a complete visual here.”

  “Yeah, we’re going to need more details, Z-man.”

  “Please tell me you have one of those clear shower curtains.”

  “Why didn’t you bring her here with you?”

  He sighed, not about to attempt answering them all, even if he’d wanted to, which he didn’t.

  Zach glanced skyward, appreciating the outdoor patio at McP’s more than usual as he looked to the heavens for patience.

  The warm gentle breeze carried on it the promise of hot wings but the ambience was being ruined by his teammates and this damn topic of conversation.

  Finally he let out a breath and braced himself to convince his brothers in arms they were fighting for the wrong side. “I didn’t bring her with me because she’s my sister’s friend, not mine. And more importantly, there’s a good chance she’s got a screw loose.”

  “Wait.” Hawk narrowed his eyes. “Is this Amanda’s roommate from college?”

  “Yeah.” Zach gratefully reached for the frosty beer bottle the waitress had just set down.

  “The Hawaiian chick who looks like she should be on a billboard for sunscreen?” Hawk continued.

  “Wait. What’s this now?” That comment had apparently gotten Rocket’s attention. He perked right up, suddenly more interested in the conversation than watching the group of women who’d just sat nearby.

  “Oh yeah. This chick is hot as hell.” Hawk nodded to Rocket.

  “How the hell do you know?” Zach asked Hawk, while trying not to admit anything to do with Gabby’s hotness.

  “You jerk.” Hawk shook his head. “Don’t you remember she was with your sister at that barbecue your parents threw that one year the team was actually in town and could take the day off for the fourth of July?”

  Zach remembered. He’d tried to block her presence out at all the family events she’d been creeping around.

  Apparently he’d successfully done so for this one . . . until damn Hawk brought it up.

  He scowled and admitted, “Yeah, that’s her.”

  “Man, I’d be happy to find her in my shower.” Hawk shot Zach a glance. “I don’t know why you look so mis
erable.”

  “No, you would not be happy to find her in your shower. The whole situation was just . . . weird.” And surprisingly uncomfortable, even though he was on the preferred side of the shower curtain this time, as opposed to a dozen years ago in the dorm.

  “So since it looks like Z-man here isn’t going to offer up any of the tasty tidbits, we’re going to have to rely on you, Hawk. So come on. Spill it. We need the deets.” Justus rested his forearms on the table and leaned toward Hawk.

  “And measurements,” Compass added, waggling his eyebrows.

  Zach groaned. Just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, this discussion had, unbelievably, taken a turn for the gutter. He might not like Gabby, but he liked the way this conversation was going even less. “Come on, guys. She’s my little sister’s best friend—”

  Hawk cocked one brow high. “You mean your thirty-year-old married CPA little sister?”

  There was a round of glares from the team, all directed at Zach.

  “She’s just turning twenty-nine. Not thirty,” he mumbled.

  “Sounds like she’s not so little anymore, Z-man,” Dutch commented, one brow high.

  “Deets, Hawk,” Justus said again. He pulled his mouth to one side as he shot Zach an amused glance. “Since Z-man is apparently incapable of appreciating the gorgeous naked woman in his own house.”

  Hawk’s lips twitched, apparently enjoying the ribbing Zach was getting. “Let’s just say the day I met her the weather was as hot as she was and there was a pool . . .”

  A round of whoops went around the table.

  “Gabby, and Amanda too—sorry, Z-man, but it’s true—were both in bikinis,” Hawk continued.

  “That’s what I’m talking about.” T-Bone rubbed his hands together.

  “And there was music.” Hawk, who obviously was enjoying being the storyteller, dangled that detail and paused for the expected reaction from the team.

  “Oh, yeah. Tell us more.” Rocket leaned forward, while Zach leaned back and took another gulp of his beer.

  There was no use fighting them when they got like this. He shouldn’t bother trying to stop Hawk’s story at this point. Well, except for the fact that Hawk’s recap of the barbecue Zach had all but forgotten brought back too many unwelcome memories.